Santa Clara County Local News: Housing

City officials say a housing proposal on Hecker Pass Highway does not meet the criteria for the so-called “builder’s remedy,” a provision of state law that allows developers to bypass local zoning requirements.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development certified Morgan Hill’s 6th Cycle Housing Element almost a year after the City Council approved the document that covers housing needs from 2023-31, according to the city.

New Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas picked new committee chairpersons and canned others, with winners including Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the Davis Democrat who was named Assembly majority leader, and Encino Democrat Jesse Gabriel, who is taking over the budget committee, though at a time of budget deficits.

Los Gatos’ housing plan consultant says the town is “95%” of the way to winning approval from the Department of Housing and Community Development, but a few tweaks may still need to be made, including making the community less exclusive.

Speaker Robert Rivas seems to be laying the institutional groundwork for an aggressively pro-housing legislature next year.

San Jose State University announced a $113 million deal with a Bay Area developer to convert the south tower of the former Fairmont Hotel—now the Hilton Signia Hotel—in downtown San Jose into a 700-bed student residence hall.